SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Logan St. John Kletter was stuck on a time of 10 minutes, 25 seconds in the 3,200-meter run. No matter the event, she couldn’t crack the time.
“But my coaches knew that, based on my training, I was ready for a drop,” St. John Kletter said.
Not only did St. John Kletter’s time drop Saturday, so did a state record.
St. John Kletter, a junior at Mt. Lebanon High School, scorched the Shippensburg University track Saturday on the final day of the PIAA track and field championships. She won the Class 3A gold medal with a time of 10 minutes, 12.86 seconds.
St. John Kletter’s time was – get this - about 13 seconds better than her previous best and she broke the 3A championship meet record of 10:16.02, set by Bethel Park’s Emily Carter in 2019. St. John Kletter’s performance also puts her in a class with the best distance runners in WPIAL history. Her time is now No. 2 by a WPIAL runner in any event. The only one who ran better was Shaler’s Brianna Schwartz, who clocked 10:10.03 in 2014.
St. John Kletter said her goal all year has been to win a state title, but acknowledged her time surprised her some.
“We went through the first mile in about 5:10 and I was thinking I was not going to get the record because that wasn’t the pace for it,” St. John Kletter said. “I think I ran a 5:02 the second mile. I just kept picking it up.”
Mt. Lebanon’s Logan St. John Kletter ran a superb 3,200 to win state title in Class 3A and set a meet record. Was one of top 3,200 runs ever by a WPIAL runner. How good? Well, St. John Kletter took about 13 seconds off her personal best. pic.twitter.com/Daiz6C8rJf
— Mike White (@mwhiteburgh) May 27, 2023
The race was a veritable get together for WPIAL runners as the first five finishers were from the WPIAL. After St. John Kletter, Pine-Richland’s Natalie McLean was second at 10:14.99, Montour’s Harley Kletz third at 10:19.71 and the Kucler twins of North Allegheny finished fourth and fifth – Robin fourth at 10:21.37 and Wren fifth at 10:24.42.
First for OLSH
Antonio Votour crossed the finish line in the Class 2A 110 hurdles and immediately raised both arms into the air in jubilation. Not only did he finish first in the event, he became the first boy state champion in the history of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, a small WPIAL school in Moon Township.
Antonio Votour is OLSH’s first boys state champ. Won 110 hurdles. pic.twitter.com/sNXtP8tWpQ
— Mike White (@mwhiteburgh) May 27, 2023
“It’s definitely a feeling of relief,” said Votour, a senior. “All the hard work you put in, countless days of practice … Just to put it to use, cross the finish line and see your name on the board first, it’s such a great feeling.”
Votour won the WPIAL title last week with a personal-best time of 14.30 seconds, which also set a meet record. But he ran 14.28 at the PIAA meet.
And OLSH has its first boy state champ ever. Antonio Votour wins 110 hurdles. pic.twitter.com/wIAlkfN5ba
— Mike White (@mwhiteburgh) May 27, 2023
Peyton’s place is first
Peyton Murray added to the tradition of state champion throwers at Hempfield. Murray, a Hempfield junior, won the Class 3A discus with a throw of 185-9.
“I think I knew beforehand I was going to win. There was not a question of whether I was going to do it,” Murray said. “I really started shining toward the end of the season. The last four meets I’ve really been shining.”
And he had the shiny gold medal Saturday. It is the eighth time a Hempfield boy athlete has won a state title in a throwing event (discus, shot put, javelin). Six of those winners have come since 2014. Also, 10 Hempfield girls have won state titles. Hempfield’s throwing coach is David Murray, who also is Peyton’s father.
“He’s coached many state champs,” Peyton Murray said. “I’ve always wanted to have my picture on the wall at Hempfield with the other state champions.”
Murray’s title came one day after he finished second in the shot put.
“I thought second was the best I could do in the shot put,” Murray said. “That’s not me having a bad mindset. It’s just that I was seeded 11th going in. The discus is what I really wanted to win.”
Hempfield almost had another state champion thrower Saturday, but Liz Tapper finished second in the discus with a throw of 155-8. Warwick’s Ella Lucas won at 163-9.
Tapper was trying to win the shot put for the second year in a row. On Friday, she won the discus for the second consecutive year.
Oh, brother
Waynesburg’s Andrew Layton won the Class 2A pole vault by clearing 15-3. Daniel Layton presented his brother with the gold medal on the winners stand. Four years ago, Daniel won the 110 hurdles state title.
Riverview’s Bauer wins 800
Riverview senior Amberson Bauer finished third in the Class 2A 800 last year. That fueled him for this year.
“Ever since the moment I stepped off that track last year, I was thinking about coming back this year and getting the gold,” Bauer said.
Mission accomplished. Bauer finished first with a time of 1:54.93. He is only the third Riverview athlete to ever win a state title, joining Tim Flanders (high jump in 1990) and Tyler Murphy (300 hurdles I 2013).
A record – no gold
Ringgold’s Ryan Pajak and Butler’s Drew Griffith both broke the Class 3A championship meet record in the 3,200. But neither won a gold medal.
The reason is because Hatboro-Horsham’s Brian DiCola also broke the record and finished ahead of Pajak and Griffith with a time of 8:47.39.
Medal count
In terms of state gold medals, it was a down year for the WPIAL. Athletes from the WPIAL won gold medals in only nine individual events. That’s only one more than the lowest total since 2010, The WPIAL had only eight golds in 2010. The WPIAL had 12 or more gold medals in 11 of the past 12 years, including 14 in 2022, 13 in 2021, 12 in 2019, 13 in 2018 and 15 in 2017.
The lowest total in the past 30 years was three in 1994. The high mark in the past 34 years was 19 in 1990.
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
First Published: May 27, 2023, 8:00 p.m.